Sad end for KidStv: Brezina and ORF separate after 20 years!

Sad end for KidStv: Brezina and ORF separate after 20 years!

The production company KidStV by Thomas Brezina is dissolved after the end of the cooperation with ORF. The step takes place due to the economic requirements of the ORF for 2026, as announced on Monday. The internal message to the employees states that the company cannot be continued under the new framework. Thomas Brezina described this moment as particularly difficult because he has been working for ORF for 40 years and KidStv was founded 20 years ago on behalf of ORF. The company is dissolved in the possession of the TKB Privat Foundation, which decided to take this step after careful examination.

The ORF stated that the previous cooperation in the children's program cannot be continued. ORF general director Roland Weißmann said that the decision was not easy and paid tribute to Brezina on the children's program. KidStV, which was under Brezinas creative management, shaped the ORF children's program since 1995. Many of his characters and stories are still very popular with generations of children.

Outlook for the future

Despite the difficult decision, Weißmann hopes that the history of ORF and KidStV will only be temporarily interrupted. Brezina announced that he will work on many new projects for children, young people and adults. The end of the cooperation comes at a time when children's television is generally faced with challenges, as Dieter Wiedemann emphasizes in his considerations on the future of children's television.

Wiedemann suggests that audiovisual children's media from the financing of public service broadcasting and instead finance it. He emphasizes the social responsibility for the formation and upbringing of children, which also includes the media. He critically notes that the country -specific particular interests have a great influence in Germany in Germany. According to the data of the KIM study, the proportion of public law TV offers was 25% in use by 3 to 13 year olds, while the KIKA was the offer of 13.2% with a market share of 13.2%.

Media use has changed significantly. 2020 used 58% of the children at least once a week, and 49% watched videos online regularly. Wiedemann criticizes that the representation of child interests in the supervisory bodies of public service broadcasting has so far been insufficient. It underlines the need for a discussion about the quality of children's media and the development of quality criteria.

Finally, Wiedemann advocates a special financing of common good -oriented audiovisual children's programs. This could help children, such as the kika, be preserved and expanded linearly. The responsibility for the financing and control of children's media should be put into the hands of society in order to ensure justified access to high -quality child -friendly media content.

For Thomas Brezina and his fans there is hope that his creative journey in the field of children's television has not yet ended. While the changes in the ORF children's program have significant effects, the opportunity opens up for new, innovative approaches in child entertainment.